Characters in El-Hazard

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The following article provides information on major and minor characters in the fictional universe of the various El-Hazard anime and manga series. If a character's existence differs significantly in the alternate timeline Wanderers TV series, these differences will also be noted. The names are listed in western order, with surnames following given names.

Contents

[edit] Primary Characters

[edit] Makoto Mizuhara

Seventeen-year-old Makoto Mizuhara (水原誠 Mizuhara Makoto) is the protagonist of the story. At the beginning of the first OAV, Makoto is to testify against Student Body President Katsuhiko Jinnai in an impeachment hearing. After school, Jinnai attacks him in an effort to prevent his testimony when time comes to a standstill. Making his way down to some ancient ruins underneath the school, Makoto discovers a mysterious, beautiful woman who sends him and the others still on the school campus to the world of El-Hazard.
Once in El-Hazard, Makoto meets up with his history teacher, Masamichi Fujisawa, and after a brief encounter with some Bugrom soldiers, the two rescue Princess Rune Venus of Roshtaria, who had been traveling to learn news of her missing sister, Fatora. As it turns out, Makoto bears an uncanny resemblance to the missing princess, and he's reluctantly recruited into impersonating Fatora. He goes along with the plan, hoping that doing so will allow him access to the Eye of God, which might have the power to return him to Earth. Over the course of the series, he becomes enthralled with Ifurita, and is oblivious to the advances that Nanami and Shayla-Shayla both make on him.
After Ifurita is catapulted far away into time and space, Makoto vows to uncover the secrets of the Eye of God in order to come rescue her. It apparently takes him several years to do so; when Makoto appears before Ifurita at the end of the first OAV, he seems to be in his late teens or early twenties.
Makoto's journey from Earth to El-Hazard endowed him with a special ability to activate and link with ancient devices of a lost El-Hazard civilization, including the Eye of God and the Demon God, Ifurita.
Makoto is notable as one of the few "harem anime" protagonists who actually becomes romantically involved with one of his admirers. Additionally, in the first OAV he showcases a certain strength of character, also notable among weak-willed, sturdy-as-wet-cardboard harem leaders. (Later series stripped him of these traits, returning him to "standard issue".)

[edit] Makoto in The Wanderers

Although considered more of an everyman in the OAV series, The Wanderers paints Makoto as more scientifically gifted. In the series, he creates a machine in the science lab to be on display at the start of the school's cultural festival, but when Jinnai sabotages it, it creates a portal to El-Hazard, pulling them in along with Nanami and Fujisawa. Because Fatora is not a part of The Wanderers, Makoto is never forced into impersonating her.
Enoki Films had planned to give Makoto the dub name "Mako" in its license. [1]

[edit] Masamichi Fujisawa

Masamichi Fujisawa (藤沢真理 Fujisawa Masamichi) is the alcoholic, chain-smoking history teacher at Shinonome High School.
Fujisawa isn't widely respected among his students, but he has a very strong sense of school spirit nonetheless. When he crosses over into El-Hazard, he gains super strength and athletic ability, but loses these powers if he's consumed too much alcohol. Also, if he goes without smoking for too long the stress amplifies his powers exponentially. Despite his vices, he is a good-hearted individual. He also gains the romantic interest of Miz Mishtal, but he is not quite sure how to handle the attention at first.

[edit] Fujisawa in The Wanderers

Mr. Fujisawa doesn't change very much, but his love of mountain climbing is emphasized a bit more than it is in the first OAV series. Also, he is not a smoker in this series and thus his "super" state doesn't exist.
Enoki Films had planned to give Fujisawa the dub name "Mr. Fuji" in its license. [2]

[edit] Katsuhiko Jinnai

Katsuhiko Jinnai (陣内克彦 Jinnai Katsuhiko), manages to win the Student Body Presidential election by promising student government funds to campus clubs and organizations that voted for him.
When Makoto catches wind of this and plans are made for him to testify against Jinnai (who is called "Jinnai" by everyone except his sister), the egocentric, power-hungry and soon to be impeached Student Body President attempts to thwart the process by attacking Makoto, intending to keep him tied up until a technicality in the bylaws prevents him from being thrown out of office. Before he can execute his plan, however, he's sent to El-Hazard, and once there encounters the Bugrom, a race of human-sized insectoid beings ruled by Queen Diva.
Jinnai's power granted to him by the trip is the ability to communicate with the Bugrom, allowing him to become their military commander under their belief that he is the messenger from God sent to lead the Bugrom to victory. A skilled tactician, he is able to reorganize the Bugrom forces into an effective army and comes close to conquering El-Hazard.
Although Jinnai is a power-hungry egomaniac, he's not without some level of humanity. When Galus attempts to stop Makoto and the others from halting the Eye of God's apocalyptic malfunction, he takes the leader of the Phantom Tribe by surprise with the help of a Bugrom soldier. Although Jinnai effectively comes to Makoto and Nanami's rescue, he does so more for the fact that a "true ruler doesn't destroy the land he wishes to conquer."
Jinnai has a very distinctive laugh; at their height, Jinnai's laughing fits rival those of Batman's nemesis the Joker in their duration, intensity, and sheer insanity level.

[edit] Jinnai in The Wanderers

Jinnai doesn't change much in the transition from OAV to TV series, either, but he seems to treat Ifurita with more care. Although he's threatened with impeachment from his position as Student Body President at the beginning of the series and Makoto plays no direct role in the trial, he is paranoid that Makoto will replace him as president once he is kicked out of office.
Additionally, Jinnai reveals a softer side at the end of the series, showing a certain fatherly affection towards Ifurita after she stops the Eye of God from plowing into Roshtaria.
Enoki Films had planned to give Jinnai the dub name "Jimbo" in its license. [3]

[edit] Nanami Jinnai

Nanami Jinnai (陣内菜々美 Jinnai Nanami) is Jinnai's younger sister by about a year.
Nanami is highly independent and strongly entrepreneurial, going so far as to take payment from the high school's Broadcast Club to grill her brother over the fraudulent election results on campus television. When she's sent to El-Hazard, she's initially alone and is forced to take on a waitressing job to earn enough money to travel, but she eventually meets up with Makoto and Fujisawa at the Fountain of Arliman, where she is able to start a small business selling boxed lunches to the visiting priestesses. Nanami has feelings for Makoto, but she's never really had the opportunity to talk about a relationship with him.
Nanami's power gained upon entering El-Hazard is to see through the illusions of the Phantom Tribe, making her a viable defense against the greatest threat in the first OAV series.

[edit] Nanami in The Wanderers

The Phantom Tribe doesn't exist in the alternate timeline, and so she instead has the same power to communicate with the Bugrom as her brother. Her past relationship with Makoto is also explored a bit more in detail, and she becomes good friends with Princess Rune Venus.
Enoki Films had planned to give Nanami the dub name "Nana" in its license. [4]

[edit] Ifurita

Ifurita is an ancient Demon God of El-Hazard. Although the specifics of her origin are never explained, it appears as though she is a biological machine designed to look like a beautiful young woman. When Makoto first encounters her in the high school, she seems to know him for some reason, and treats him warmly. However, later in the series, when Makoto and the others reach the Island of the Demon God, he discovers her still asleep, as she had been for centuries. Jinnai uses the Power Key Staff to wind-up Ifurita, awakening her, and because he is the master of the staff, she emotionlessly does his bidding. She has the destructive power to level entire cities, and can duplicate any attack or technique that's used against her, truly making her the most fearsome weapon in all of El-Hazard.
On occasions when Makoto's power allows his mind to synchronize with hers, she becomes aware that he somehow knows her, despite having never met him before. This leads her to question her existence as a weapon. When Makoto eventually disables the obedience circuit within her, she becomes free of Jinnai's control. At the end of the first OAV series, the Eye of God goes out of control, and she gives Makoto her staff, allowing her to tap into his power to control ancient technology. In stopping the Eye of God, Ifurita is thrown through time and space for thousands of years, eventually coming to rest under what would later become the site of Shinonome High School. After sending Makoto and the others to El-Hazard, she wanders the school, taking in memories that Makoto had passed along to her, and sadly leans against the fence outside the school as the sunrises, when a slightly older looking Makoto appears. After ten thousand years, the two are reunited at last with the key necessary to charge her and with the power necessary to enable her to return to their departure time and place.
In El-Hazard 2, there is another, identical looking Ifurita, belonging to a man called Yuba, another dimension-traveller who shares Makoto's powers. Many fans see this as being little more then a rather contrived excuse to use Ifurita in the series, and somewhat cheapening her character.

[edit] Ifurita in The Wanderers

Ifurita underwent a complete makeover in The Wanderers. The tragic, mystifying and fearsome Demon God was given a totally different personality, making her a bubble-headed ditz along the lines of Mihoshi from Tenchi Muyo! She also underwent a major physical redesign that makes her resemble a Japanese high school girl more than a woman from an exotic land. In The Wanderers, rather than become Makoto's ultimate love interest, she stays with Jinnai, cheerfully following his orders and trying not to screw them up. Unlike in the OAV, in which she stops the Eye of God after it goes out of control, this version of Ifurita is actually the key that controls the Eye and its destructive power.

[edit] The Power Key Staff

Ifurita's Power Key Staff holds two purposes. First, it is the device used to give Ifurita power, acting as a sort of wind-up key. Second, it serves as Ifurita's primary weapon, which she uses to channel her destructive energy. The Power Key Staff is not a separate device, but rather an extension of Ifurita's own body.

[edit] Kalia

Kalia is the name of a Demon-God discovered by Jinnai in the second OVA. While she seems to share some of the same abilities as Ifurita, her real power is absorbing energy and using it to her advantage. It is unknown if she has the capability of copying the techniques of her opponents, however, she *is* fully able to collect and conserve energy from one or multiple attackers and reflect that power back at her leisure. Aside from this, she can also absorb and drain energy from living & biomechanical things through the gauntlets on her hands.
Her true purpose, however, is to be the control of an ancient El-Hazard weapon called the Trigger of Destruction, made in the Holy Wars as a final act of vengeance by tribes affected by the Eye of God. The Trigger itself is essentially a Doomsday Device; killing both enemy & friend as it weaves its way through dimensions, annihilating anything caught in its path. Kalia takes control of the machine after defeating and sealing Ifurita-2, but Makoto and the revived Ifurita are able to elude the Trigger's defenses and enter Kalia's control room.
Caught distracted while attacking Makoto, Ifurita-2 drives her staff through Kalia's activation module and fires, reducing her to scrap as she melts from the inside-out. Upon her death the Trigger loses semblance and is destroyed along with her.
Kalia does not appear in The Wanderers.

[edit] Alielle

Princess Fatora's secret lesbian lover, she's discovered when she returns to the royal palace after visiting her parents and sneaks into Fatora's bedroom while Makoto (still dressed as Fatora) is in bed. When she learns the whole truth, she becomes worried for the real Fatora's safety and assists Makoto and Fujisawa as they travel to see the three priestesses of Mt. Muldoon, serving as their guide.
Interestingly, in the opening sequence of the first OAV, there is a brief shot of Alielle wielding a curved sword, but she never actually actively participates in any combat over the course of the series.

[edit] Alielle in The Wanderers

With Fatora gone, Alielle's lesbian traits are reduced (eliminated in the dub version), but she otherwise remains very much the same sort of character as before.

[edit] Arjah

A mysterious multi-dimensional being that appears in The Alternative World. The self-proclaimed "ruler of the universe," Arjah has some connection to Ifurita and Kauru. It's later revealed that Arjah is somehow imprisoned inside the alternate Eye of God, and can be freed only by firing the doomsday weapon. Makoto and the three priestesses foil his plans by sealing the Eye, but not before Arjah tempts Makoto with promises of returning him to Earth and reuniting him with Ifurita in exchange for allowing Arjah to escape.
Typical of anything related to the Alternative World, Arjah's role in the story is barely explained. For such a powerful, important character, Arjah makes scant few appearances in the series, usually when something needs to be explained away without a good reason.
Arjah does not appear in The Wanderers.

[edit] Muldoon Priestesses

The three priestesses of Mt. Muldoon are sought out by "Fatora" (Makoto in disguise), Fujisawa and Alielle on a mission from the alliance of nations against the Bugrom, as they are the only ones capable of unsealing the Eye of God's power. Each of the Muldoon priestesses holds control over a particular element and are able to wield their powers at will.

[edit] Shayla-Shayla

At age nineteen, Shayla-Shayla is (initially) the youngest of the three priestesses. Holding true to the classic anime redhead stereotype, this tanned priestess's temper is as fiery as her hair, matching her control over the element of fire. Makoto, Fujisawa and Alielle first meet her when she rescues them from a Bugrom attack on Mt. Muldoon, but she runs off with Afura without hearing them out about their mission. When she first learns Makoto's true identity, she accuses him of being a pervert and tries to roast him, but after he saves her life when Ifurita awakens, she begins to have feelings for him. She also has a friendly rivalry with the wind priestess Afura Mann.

[edit] Shayla-Shayla in The Wanderers

Rather than be centralized in one location, the three priestesses each run a separate temple. Fittingly enough, Shayla's fire temple is located in a volcano. She's just as temper driven as her OAV persona, but with the addition of being a heavy gambler. When Makoto and Fujisawa first meet her, she had just lost the entire temple to Jinnai in a rigged game.

[edit] Afura Mann

The wind priestess of Mt. Muldoon. Of the three priestesses, her personality is delved into the least, and she comes off being rather wooden and serious most of the time, although she does make the occasional crack at Shayla's expense. Even though she's about the same age as Shayla, she's much more calm and composed. However, she's also not above shirking her duties on occasion, as she and Shayla are both late for the start of the rituals at Arliman after shopping at a bazaar, and like Shayla, she fails to listen to Makoto's pleas when they first meet.

[edit] Afura in The Wanderers

Afura remains a studious, intelligent priestess in the television series. However, her background with Shayla-Shayla is plumbed into much more detail, and her personality is given slightly more definition. Not much else changes, however. Her temple is located on a windy mountain peak and contains an extensive library of texts.

[edit] Miz Mishtal

The water priestess of Mt. Muldoon, as well as the oldest. Creeping towards thirty years of age, Miz's main concern, aside from her duties as a priestess, is keeping herself looking beautiful and hoping that she'll one day find a suitor so that she can marry and retire. While bathing in the springs of Arliman, a bumbling servant pours freezing cold water on her, causing her to scream, and Fujisawa, thinking she's in danger, "saves" her from her attacker. Taken with how handsome her "hero" is (not to mention that he's a teacher with a steady income), Miz instantly falls head over heels for him. Even as the world is in danger, Miz's primary motivation for ending the Bugrom conflict is so that she can plan out the whole wedding ceremony before Fujisawa can even say yes or no. Although she's more than capable of taking care of herself, she likes playing the delicate flower role when wooing Fujisawa.

[edit] Miz in The Wanderers

Miz is very much the same person she is in the OAV. The water temple she controls was briefly left in the hands of Nanami, who turned it into a water park, much to Miz's dismay.

[edit] Kauru Taurus

Kauru is 17 years old, and the youngest priestess of Mount Muldoon ever. She was the top student of her class and took the place of Miz Mishtal after the former priestess of water married Fujisawa. Kauru’s servant is Alielle’s twin brother, Palnus. Kauru is also very afraid of insects, which causes her to destroy whatever is around her. Like Alielle, Kauru addresses Makoto Mizuhara as master, because he saved her life. She is also in love with him.
Kauru's character is very poorly developed; the origin of her strange powers, or her connection to Ifurita and Arjah, is not explained at all. Ultimately, Kauru becomes a walking plot hole.
As a minor note, when The Alternative World was released in North America through Pioneer Animation (or Geneon, as it is now called), her name was written as "Qwaool" and "Qwaoor" on the packaging (the spelling used depended on the volume.) Ostensibly, this was done to make her name sound more native to El-Hazard since "Kauru" is actually a very common name in Japan. However, the fact there seemed to be no agreement on the proper spelling of her English language name is fitting for a character that most fans agree had been poorly implemented into the series from the very start.
Kauru was introduced in The Alternative World and does not appear in The Wanderers.

[edit] Faces at the Palace

This category covers characters that are seen within or associated most often with the royal palace in Florestica, the capital of Roshtaria and the location of the headquarters of the Alliance of human nations.

[edit] Rune Venus

A princess of Roshtaria and Fatora's older sister, she's both the leader of Roshtaria and the head of the Alliance. A serious, intelligent and kind-hearted ruler, she sends Makoto and Fujisawa on a mission to locate the Muldoon priestesses so that they can unseal the Eye of God. Even though Fatora's absence renders the superweapon useless, she and the other Alliance members believe that such an action would deter the Bugrom from attacking. She's also engaged to Prince Galus, who supports the action.

[edit] Rune Venus in The Wanderers

Like Ifurita, Rune undergoes a dramatic shift in personality and character design in The Wanderers. Younger and cuter, she's closer to Makoto's age and is made into his primary love interest as well as a much more central character in general. She's also more lighthearted and playful, but still serious enough to be a proper ruler.
Enoki Films had planned to give Rune the dub name "Ruhn" in their license. [5]

[edit] Londs

Londs is the chief servant of the royal house and a trained soldier. He oversees many of the day-to-day goings-on at the palace, and assists Makoto in keeping up the ruse of him playing Fatora. It is he that invites Makoto and Fujisawa to the palace after the two Earthlings rescue Princess Rune from a Bugrom attack.

[edit] Londs in The Wanderers

Londs doesn't change much, but he is initially much more suspicious of Makoto and Fujisawa when they first appear than he is in the OAV.

[edit] Dr. Schtalubaugh

The elderly Dean of Roshtaria's Royal Academy, Schtalubaugh has access to more knowledge about the workings of ancient El-Hazard than anyone else. It is he that discerns the exact nature of Makoto's super-ability. However, he has no knowledge of any ability to cross over dimensions, and thus is unable to find a way to return Makoto and Fujisawa to Earth. He also has hands in ceremonial matters, as Miz informs Fujisawa that he has agreed to oversee their vows at their wedding.

[edit] Dr. Schtalubaugh in The Wanderers

Very little about the good doctor changes, but there are scenes in which he is able to relax and enjoy himself.

[edit] Fatora

Princess Fatora is Rune Venus's younger sister, and for the majority of the first OAV, she's in the clutches of the Phantom Tribe, being subjected to various scientific experiments. Although two females of royal blood are required in order to operate the Eye of God, the tribe utilizes a special device allowing them to control it with only her as a key. However, when the machine breaks down, the tribe is forced to retreat, and Ifurita, sent by Katsuhiko, takes her to the Bugrom to become their prisoner. When she's finally freed, she agrees to help Rune activate the Eye of God to eliminate the Bugrom, but Phantom Tribe sabotage causes the Eye to run out of control after they activate it together.
Although the members of the palace look at her with love and admiration, she is in actuality a cruel, despotic tyrant. (Alielle, her lesbian lover, is happy to see that she hasn't changed at all after her ordeal.) She shows very little gratitude towards Makoto for rescuing her, instead declaring how he must have a greater appreciation for her station now that he's had a chance to live it.
Fatora doesn't exist in The Wanderers.

[edit] Ura

Ura is a cat and Fatora's personal pet. Unlike felines of Earth, however, the cats of El-Hazard are able to stretch and wrap around humans, becoming a highly durable living armor. Ura is loaned to Makoto while he impersonates Fatora, and the cat saves his life on several occasions. As armor, she's at least strong enough to withstand a single blast of energy from Ifurita. Ura is also capable of limited human speech.
After Fatora is rescued, the princess ungratefully admonishes Ura and threatens to punish her. When Makoto steps in to defend Ura, Fatora cuts ties with her pet, and the cat becomes Makoto's guardian full-time.

[edit] Ura in The Wanderers

In The Wanderers, Ura is a cat raised in the wilds of a forest. She befriends Makoto and ends up tagging along with him, using her abilities as armor to protect him when needed.

[edit] The Phantom Tribe

The Phantom Tribe is a society of blue-skinned humanoids that were pulled into El-Hazard when the Eye of God was last activated in ancient times. Shunned by the ancients, they live as outcasts and hold a deep-seated grudge against all of El-Hazard. The members of the Phantom Tribe have innate powers of illusion, allowing them to disguise themselves as humans and create environmental illusions such as flashfloods that are realistic enough to convice a person that he's actually drowning.
The Phantom Tribe does not exist in The Wanderers universe.

[edit] Galus

Although the hierarchy of the Phantom Tribe isn't fully explored, Galus is probably their leader. Disguised as a human prince, he became engaged to Rune Venus at some point before the beginning of the OAV series. He manipulates the Alliance council into unsealing the Eye of God and kidnaps Princess Fatora in order to use the Eye to destroy all of El-Hazard in an act of insane revenge. Cunning and tactical, his hatred for the people of El-Hazard is boundless.

[edit] Kiriya

A Phantom Tribe assassin, Galus sends Kiriya to kill Makoto (still disguised as Fatora) before he can contact the Muldoon priestesses; with his death, everyone will be convinced that the real Fatora is dead. Her initial attempt at his life is thwarted by the appearance of Shayla-Shayla, who creates too much havoc to allow her to properly aim a shot from her crossbow. Later, at the Holy Fountain of Arliman, she disguises herself as a beautiful blonde woman and attempts to get close enough to Makoto to eliminate him. However, Nanami sees through Kiriya's illusion, and Miz kills her.

[edit] Nahato

A young Phantom Tribe boy, Nahato is a loyal retainer of Galus, willing to put his life on the line if it means his lord's plans will come to fruition. Despite his young age, he's highly intelligent, and he typically shows up at just the right time to make things more difficult for Makoto and the others. He closely assists Galus in the project to use Fatora as their key to the Eye of God. It is he that sabotages the Eye, causing it to go out of control and threaten El-Hazard when Princesses Rune Venus and Fatora use it to destroy the Bugrom.

[edit] The Bugrom

The Bugrom tribe is a race of human-sized or above human-sized insectoid creatures. They exist in several different varieties and are much stronger than an average human. Only Fujisawa is capable of defeating them hand-to-hand with his super-strength. Although typically rather unintelligent and disorganized, Jinnai rallies them into an effective army, and with the help of Ifurita, they come extremely close to conquering El-Hazard before they're almost completely wiped out when Princesses Rune Venus and Fatora activate the Eye of God. In The Wanderers, Jinnai and the Bugrom forces exist as the primary antogonists, rather than the Phantom Tribe.
There is a small, diverse group of Bugrom assembled by Jinnai as ihs main squad. In the English language version, he names them Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo, Gummo, Chico, and Margaret, as an homage to the Marx Brothers and their foil Margaret Dumont.
Enoki Films had planned to give Bugrom the dub name "Insectrons" in its license. [6]

[edit] Queen Diva

Queen Diva is the ruler of the Bugrom. With the exception of a few features, she has the external appearance of a beautiful woman and is the only fully humanoid member of the tribe. When Katsuhiko arrives in El-Hazard and is brought before her by some of her soldiers, she becomes convinced that he is actually a messenger sent by God destined to lead the Bugrom to victory over their enemies in the Alliance. Impressed by Katsuhiko's ability to mobilize the troops and conquer nations with ease, she also becomes romantically interested in him. When the Bugrom homeland is annihilated by the Eye of God, she manages to avoid the attack with a few other Bugrom while traveling to deliver supplies to Katsuhiko on the frontline.

[edit] Diva in The Wanderers

Diva is very much a background character in the OAV, and she doesn't have much more to do in The Wanderers, either. However, the relationship between her, Jinnai and the bubble-headed Ifurita does take on a rather comedic family dynamic. Also, The Wanderers is the only El-Hazard series in which Diva encounters a human character without a special power to understand the Bugrom language.
Enoki Films had planned to give Diva the dub name "Deeva" in its license. [7]
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